Crushed
by Arayllin
Summary: "We're nakama, right? We can get through this... can't we? We can... get..." He covered his face, and Nami stared, speechless. She'd never seen Luffy cry before. AU
1. Prologue 1

"Wow, I can't believe it's already been two weeks since we graduated!" Ex-high schooler Nami giggled from the passenger seat of the huge blue van. "It feels like we just left home!"

"It kinda does doesn't it?" Beside her, Sanji kept his eyes on the road as he drove, smiling. "Hard to believe our trip's almost halfway over."

"Don't _say _that!" From behind them, Luffy glared at his friends. "Don't ruin it, we've got tons of time left!"

"More than three weeks!" Usopp chimed in from Luffy's right, glaring at the others as well.

"Yeah, I know," Nami laughed, turning over to glance at him in the seat behind her. "I'm just saying."

"Well don't," Luffy folded his arms, glaring at her, but a moment later turned to stare out the window again. "Where are we going next anyway?"

Nami looked back down at her map. "It's a surprise," she said after a moment. "You'll see."

"But I wanna know now!" Luffy pouted, but it only caused Nami to laugh again.

"Nope!" she said. "You have to wait."

"We should be there pretty soon," Sanji said, glancing down at the map before Nami covered it up again.

"No peeking," she admonished. Of course, Sanji already knew where they were headed - being the driver and all - but Nami was very protective of her hand-drawn maps, an Sanji chuckled as he turned back to the road. Luffy continued to stare out the window, and Usopp managed to stay quiet as Nami poured over her maps.

It had in fact been two weeks since the ragtag team of teenagers had set out from their hometown to go on a tour of the country. Come next September they were planning to go their separate ways, so they'd planned to spend their entire summer together, seeing the sights and enjoying their first and last days of freedom. They'd been planning this trip since they met in their freshman year; it was the last thing they would do together before the next chapter of their lives, and they were trying to cherish it.

They'd made it quite a distance from their tiny town- halfway across the country and traveling everywhere they could. Living out of their van, they didn't have to pay for rooms, and were able to be as loud as they wanted. There was no shortage of money either, as they'd been saving since freshman year too, so that was nice. Especially considering Luffy's appetite.

So far they'd been really enjoying their vacation- after final exams and graduation it was nice to get away from it all and act like responsible adults for once (or, most of them anyway). Truly, this was the adventure of a lifetime.

"Is Zoro still back there?" Sanji attempted to distract the others from Nami's lack of answers, glancing over his shoulder for the green-haired teen.

"He's in the back," Luffy said quickly, looking back as well. "He's taking up the whole seat!"

"Sleeping, no doubt," Nami muttered, and Lufffy nodded even though she couldn't see him.

"He's been out for hours," Usopp clarified, and Sanji laughed again.

"Stupid marimo," he said, clenching the wheel tightly as he made another corner. They were on the highway, and he was doing his best to keep from stressing about the large amount of traffic. Living in a small town they were unused to roads like this, and it was tricky to drive in. Of course, it wasn't helping that he wasn't allowed to smoke in the van (the decision had been unanimous), and he'd respected their wishes so far. That said, he would have to pull over if they didn't reach their destination soon- he couldn't remember the last time he'd had cravings as bad as this.

Nami, it appeared, was aware something was off, and thinly-masked concern flashed in her eyes as she looked over at her friend.

"You all right, Sanji?" She asked, adn he quickly nodded.

"I'm fine, Nami," he said, forcing himself to drop the "-san" he knew would only annoy her. "Just... craving. Thank you for asking though." It made him happy that she cared.

"Oh," her response was flat, yet contained some sort of sympathy. "Sorry."

"It's fine," he said again. "I can wait until we get there."

"Should be soon."

"I can't WAIT!" Suddenly Luffy was behind them again, leaned as far forward as his seatbelt would let him and grinning ear to ear. "It's gonna be so awesome, isn't it Nami!?"

"I bet it's a theme park!" Usopp jumped in from beside him, and Luffy's eyes lit up.

"A theme park?!" he shouted, causing Nami and Sanji to jump though Zoro didn't stir.

"Or maybe it's a zoo?" Usopp guessed, folding his arms and nodding as if he knew what he was talking about.

"Or a skyscraper!" Luffy added loudly, and Usopp just rolled his eyes.

"That's not impressive, stupid," he said, but then he paused and his eyes grew wide too. "...unless it's a five hundred story skyscraper!"

"Whoa!" Luffy grinned, imagining it, and in the front the others laughed. Nami was enjoying listening to their guesses, and Sanji was just glad for the distraction. It was starting to get darker outside, and headlights were beginning to come on around them. Flicking his own on, Sanji squinted at the road and the yellow lines speeding by. He was looking for exit 7, their stop, and he knew it should be coming up soon. Just one more corner and they'd be there, if memory served correctly.

Turning the wheel to the right, he started the sharp turn, paying little mind to Luffy and Usopp's ongoing guessing regarding their destination. However, Sanji would have done well to pay _more _mind to the lane on his left, where a transport truck was taking the sharp corner a little _too _sharply. Skidding, its driver turned to the left in an attempt to keep from hitting the van as he lost control, as well as his load.

Sanji noticed this a good thirty seconds too late, and found himself helpless to evade the cargo as an entire truckload of stripped tree trunks crashed into the side of the van. The last thing he heard was Nami screaming, and then everything went dark.


	2. Prologue 2

Stuck in her seatbelt, Nami was unable to escape the coming trunks. She watched in what could only be described as terror as they crashed through the metal, seeming to go right through Sanji as Nami threw up her arms to protect herself. Something snapped as the log hit into her, pressing her up against the side of the van. Her arms throbbed against the wood, and her seatbelt cut into her skin in a way that made it seem impossible that she wasn't bleeding. Somehow it hadn't broken through, and she'd squealed again as another log tumbled towards where she was trapped. The one holding her down - with that terrible pressure on her arm - it was huge. She had nowhere to go, and this one was bound to crush her if it had its way. That, or push her through the door, which would probably have the same effect anyway.

Screwing her eyes shut, Nami waited for the impact and the pain she knew would come with it. She hoped it would knock her out - or kill her - quickly. It was really the best she could hope for.

She heard it moving as if in slow motion, coming closer and closer and closer... and then it stopped.

She heard a grunt from above her, and she opened her eyes slowly, then gasped.

"Luffy!"

The slender boy stood above her, his right arm thrust out in front of him. His eyes were shut and his teeth were clenched and it took Nami a moment to realize what he had done.

The boy's arm was stuck in between the log pinning her and the one that had been coming. He'd stopped it... with his bare flesh.

"Are you okay, Nami?" He choked out the words, and she responded just as breathlessly.

"I think my arms..." she coughed. "I'm... crushed."

"We'll get you out," Luffy didn't move, but a moment later she heard noises coming from behind her as someone climbed into the van.

"I called... the police," said Usopp.

"Good," Luffy said, sounding amazingly calm for someone whose arm was crushed between two enormous logs. Nami wasn't sure if he was stuck or unwilling to move for her sake, but either way she didn't like it. "Where are the others?" Luffy asked. "What's going on out there?"

"A whole bunch of logs rolled down the hill," Usopp blabbed, glad to fill the tense silence. "Apparently there's a hill. We're lucky only three of 'em hit the van..."

"Three?" Nami spoke up painfully, taking a sharp breath. Her arms were still folded across her body, and between the log and the van's door, which they didn't dare open, she had little room to breathe or move or really do much of anything.

"The third one fell on the back," Usopp said softly after a moment. "It tore the roof right off and went down the hill, but..."he was quiet a moment longer and Nami internally cursed her inability to look over her shoulder.

"But what?" Luffy asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"I think it hit Zoro in the head," the long nosed teen spoke bluntly, though they could hear the distress in his voice. "There's... so much blood."

"What?!" Luffy cried out where Nami couldn't, and she felt the logs shift as he strained to look at the back seat.

"It's fine!" Usopp said quickly. "I tied him up in my shirt... it's just... his head..."

"His-?!" Luffy bit back more shouting, and above her Nami could see the tears in his eyes that she didn't think were caused by his arm. "And Sanji?" His voice was low; as was Usopp's when he answered.

"He's... crushed," he said. "The first log rolled right over him, I think, and that one is still on top of him." There was another pause, and the seat creaked as Usopp moved. "He's out cold."

Neither Luffy or Nami had a response for that, so Luffy just asked the next logical question:  
"Are _you_ okay, Usopp?"

"I'm... fine." The teen's voice was quiet as he answered, shaking as he went on. "I... I ran away. When I saw the truck tipping I threw open the door and rolled down the hill... I got some scratches but I'm okay." He sounded ashamed, and despite the situation Luffy tried to cheer him up.

"Hey, if you hadn't run away you would have got hurt too," he said quickly. "Then you couldn't have helped Zoro! So I think it was a good thing."

"I guess..." Usopp still sounded upset, and Nami quietly marveled at how well the two of them seemed to be taking this. She was practically hyperventilating herself, and the two of them were just chatting it up... but then, maybe that was their way of dealing with things. She, on the other hand, needed to calm down - she was running out of air fast, and the cramped quarters and worrying about her friends was hardly helping. Her body ached all over, and as she forced herself to slow her breathing, she heard sirens approaching.

"Ah!" Usopp jumped up, shaking the van and causing both Nami and Luffy to cry out as the logs shifted. Muttering frantic apologies, the shirtless teen bolted into the road, waving his arms wildly to summon their rescuers to the scene. Nami closed her eyes to wait, hoping they would arrive soon and help her get out of this mess - and more importantly, everyone else.

She could only pray they would all be okay.


	3. Responsibility, What's That?

If there was one thing in the world the Great Usopp was not used to being, it was a responsible adult.

The first to run away from danger, the last to step up and volunteer for anything, Usopp wasn't used to having to take care of others, or to deal with mature matters. It was greatly out of his comfort zone, but he would do whatever he had to for his friends.

When the emergency vehicles had arrived on the scene they'd taken everyone to the nearest hospital. They'd all been rushed into the Emergency Room, but Usopp had been released early the next morning. Slightly bandaged, he'd been told to go on his way, but of course he'd not been able to do that, and had been hard at work ever since.

He'd already called home multiple times to tell everyone what had happened, somehow convincing them it was in everyone's best interest if they _didn't_ come up to help. His quick tongue had come in handy with the number of times he'd said "they'll be fine," and their friends and family seemed to have bought it. It had been hard though, listening over and over again to people freaking out at the news, and he'd left his cell number with dozens of people so they could stay updated. As if he knew anything himself.

He'd also been to a garage nearby, where they'd given him what they'd been able to salvage from the van and then scrapped the whole vehicle. He'd been lugging around the stuff ever since; spending their money on bus tickets to get around town as he accomplished his errands. He'd been to the police station to tell them he wasn't pressing charges (he knew his friends wouldn't either), and had even had the pleasure of meeting the truck driver who had ruined their vacation. He'd been civil to her, at least. Mostly.

Now, all that finally out of the way, Usopp was waiting in the hospital to see his friends. His stuff took up an entire corner of the small waiting room, and he sat with his arms folded on a pile of backpacks and suitcases, as if daring anyone to challenge him on it. He'd been in the hospital for hours now, and nobody had bothered him yet, but he was growing more and more antsy for information. He'd learned very little from the receptionist he'd talked to - he knew that Sanji and Zoro had been taken to the ICU and might have had emergency surgeries, but that was it. He'd been told he could see Nami and Luffy soon.

Sighing, the teen leaned back against the wall, the mountain of stuff shifting underneath him. He knew that he looked terrible (which was probably part of the reason nobody was bugging him), but he found he didn't really care. He'd bought a shirt to cover himself, but his pants were still stained with Zoro's blood, and his hair was a mess. Glancing at his reflection in a nearby window, he could have laughed - he practically looked homeless!

The laughter died in his throat however, as once more the truth of the matter hit him; he kind of _was_. He'd been unwilling to invest in a hotel room, and with the van wrecked he had literally nowhere to go. It didn't really matter though, for now he didn't need to be anywhere but here, waiting.

"Usopp?" A nurse dressed in white walked into the room, and Usopp looked up.

"Y-yes?" He replied shakily.

"Nami is waiting for you," she said.

Usopp's eyes lit up, and he jumped up, scattering his mountain all over the floor. Freezing in place, Usopp turned to stare at the mess, and then gave the nurse an apologetic smile.

"It's fine," she sighed. "We'll get someone to look after it for you."

"Great!" He grinned, but it faded quickly as he leaned in to whisper to the woman. "Are my friends okay?"

"I can't tell you anything yet," she answered somberly. "Not without their permission and their doctor's. But Nami is ready to see you now."

"Oh, right," he nodded, hopping away from the catastrophe he'd made.

The nurse lead him out of the waiting room and down a long hallway, through enough twists and turns that he soon had no idea where he had come from or where he was going. Eventually they reached a room near the end of a particularly long hallway, and the woman stopped.

"In here," she said. "Nami is one of many patients in this room, she will be leaving by tomorrow morning." She opened the door, and Usopp thanked her and stepped inside.

As the nurse had said, the room was crowded. It appeared to be one of the rooms meant for people who were mostly okay, and who only had to stay one night "just in case." Looking around, he found every patient staring at him, but he couldn't seem to find the one he was looking-

"Usopp!" A cry came from the far corner of the room, to his right. Startled, Usopp turned, and it didn't take him long to spot the redheaded girl who was staring in his direction along with everyone else.

"Nami!" He bolted across the room, coming to a skidding stop and hopping on one foot to keep his balance before flopping down by the foot of her bed. "Nami!"

She grinned, and his heart swelled as he clambered back to his feet. Words couldn't describe how great it was to see one of his friends in one piece - he'd spent the last twelve hours worrying his head off, and it was fantastic to see that she was okay. Or, he assumed she was.

"You... _are, _aren't you?" he leaned over the bed, scrutinizing what he could see of his friend. "Okay, I mean."

"I'm fine," Nami said quickly. She sat up, pushing back the blankets to give Usopp a full view, and he stared. Like him, Nami's body was covered in bandages. "Bruises," she explained, "nothing too bad." Her left arm especially was swathed in all sorts of material, and Usopp could see yellow splotches on the skin surrounding them. Her right arm was in a cast.

"It's broken?" he asked, pointing a finger at the light blue covering.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Not super badly or anything, but still. The other one was pretty banged up too..." she glanced up at her friend. "And you?"

"Just a few cuts and bumps," he said, acting casual as he sat on her bed with his chest puffed out. "Nothing the Great Usopp couldn't handle!"

Nami giggled at that, and the sound was like music to Usopp's ears - it was such a relief to know that at least one of his friends was safe. However, his comfort was not to last, as Nami's laughter quickly faded to be replaced by a soft whisper. Usopp had to lean in close to hear her.

"Everyone else... they're okay too, right?"

Usopp's own smile disappeared, and he spent a long moment staring at his folded hands before he answered.

"I wish I could say so for sure, Nami," he said quietly, gulping hard. "I really do." He could've come up with a lie of course, but it didn't seem appropriate. Not now.

"You mean...?" Nami let the sentence trail, and Usopp shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "You're the only one I've been allowed to see yet. I don't know anything about the others."

"But you have to know _something_!" she protested. "Anything?"

"The _Going Merry_ is smashed beyond repair," Usopp offered, hoping the monetary value lost would distract her. To his surprise, it didn't work.

"I don't care about that!" Nami snapped instead, and he noticed tears flashing in her eyes as her hands balled into fists. Or, sort-of fists. It was hard to tell with all the bandages. "Just tell me they're okay!"

Usopp sighed, and his shoulder sagged.

"I wish I could," he said again, "but I really don't know much of anything." He met her eyes a he went on, a thousand lies going through his head as he settled for the truth for once. "All I know is that Zoro and Sanji are or were in intensive care. Luffy never made it out of emerge, which means we should be able to see him soon." He sighed, then tried to force a smile that he imagined looked more like a painful grimace. "That's really all I know, I'm sorry."

There was a moment of silence again, and when Nami looked up she was smiling. Weakly, but Usopp could tell it was genuine.

"Thanks, Usopp," she said. "I'm glad that you came to see me, and that you're okay..."

He nodded, "me too. But, err, for you, I mean." She laughed again.

"I can leave in the morning," she said. "You'll come pick me up?"

"Of course," he nodded. "I'll have to rent a car, I guess. And a hotel room..." he winced, knowing it would be pricey to get something close enough to the hospital, but Nami just shrugged her good shoulder.

"Do what you have to," she said, sounding only slightly deflated at the prospect. "Right now the most important thing is making sure everyone is okay."

"Yeah," Usopp nodded his agreement, leaning back on his hands on her bed. "You don't wanna sue her, do you?"

"...what?"

"The lady who ran into us. Or, dropped the logs. I dunno, whatever happened out there. I was at the police station this morning and they asked if I wanted to press charges or something."

"Did you?"

"No," Usopp shook his head quickly, whipping his hair around his ears. "It feels wrong to. I mean, it's not like she did it on purpose, and she already feels so bad about it..." He shrugged, "besides, no amount of money is going to un-ruin our trip or make everyone magically okay, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Nami sounded unsure, as if she were considering suing the woman herself. "I think I'll have to meet her before I make a decision though. Money is money, after all."

Now _that_ sounded like the Nami he knew.

Rolling his eyes, Usopp grinned and hopped off of her bed. "I'll let you get some sleep," he said. "I've gotta get all our stuff to a hotel somewhere and get a car and do all sorts of grown up things like that."

"Wow," Nami raised her eyebrows. "Who are you and what have you done with-"

"Yeah, yeah," Usopp waved a bandaged arm at her, "I know. I'm trying though. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Get some rest."

"Okay," she settled back into the bed with surprisingly little argument. None, in fact. "See you tomorrow."

"I'll bring you some clothes from your bag," Usopp promised, stepping away with a small wave. "Bye."

"Bye," Nami replied sleepily, and he realized he must have been keeping her awake. "Thanks, Usopp."

"No problem," he whispered back, creeping past the other patients and closing the door softly behind him.

It was time to be responsible again.

* * *

Hours later, Usopp had accomplished more than he'd have ever thought he could on his own. Or at all, really. He'd managed to rent a car from a rental place he'd literally stumbled across, conveniently mentioning his recent misadventures and getting a lovely discount for dealer had been a wonderful guy.

He'd swung by the hospital to pick up his things - and everyone else's of course - and then made his way to the nearest motel (the car man had given him directions). He'd paid for a small room with two beds and a couch; up a single flight of wooden stairs on the building's exterior. It wasn't very fancy, but it would do for now. After all, he wouldn't need it long, right?

Entering the room with the last load of luggage (he'd taken three trips), Usopp flopped onto the bed closest to the door. Nami could have the other bed, he told himself, and when Luffy got out they could give him the couch. They'd worry about the others when the time came - he was trying to live in the present. Far better than the alternatives.

Forcing himself to get up, Usopp busied himself sorting everyone's luggage out. It didn't take him long to figure out whose things were whose - smuggled meat had begun to rot in Luffy's bag, and Nami's was the only female's (the bras were the only thing he saw before he threw the bag to the side).

Zolo's suitcase had next to nothing in it, but he wasn't sure if it had always been like that or if his other things had been unsalvageable. At least his swords were okay; Usopp laid them gently on the carpet beside Luffy's hat, which had also survived by some miracle.

Sanji's formal wear - all he ever wore, actually - was all rumpled, but it would be okay. A lot of things seemed to be missing; Usopp recalled the officers saying they'd thrown out what was ruined by the twisted metal and crashing logs. Or by blood. Usopp knew his own clothes had been ruined by Zoro's head injury, and he had little doubt Sanji had been bleeding as well. They would definitely be needing some new threads.

With the clothes and things sorted, Usopp slunk over to the front door. His stomach gurgled as he turned the deadbolt, ensuring no creeps would bother him in the night. He was starving, and it was barely lunchtime, but he was exhausted. He'd spent the entire day after the accident taking care of things, then he'd waited in the hospital most of the night... it was definitely time for a nap. A long one, and with any luck he would wake up to find it had all been nothing but a horrible, horrible dream.

* * *

Unfortunately, when Luffy woke up hours later in a cramped hospital bed, that wasn't the case at all.


	4. And Then There Were Two

It was dark. That was the first thing to register, and as Monkey D. Luffy attempted to look around the room, it didn't get any brighter.

His first thought was, of course, meat. His second was whether or not he'd gone blind.

There was an accident, he remembered that much. But he hadn't gotten hit in the eyes. Or in the head, and that could cause blindness too, right? Luffy wasn't sure, but he didn't like it.

Sitting up quickly, he blinked a few times and squinted at the darkness around him. He could make out a few shapes, and he smiled.

"Good," he said out loud, to nobody in particular. He wasn't blind, it was just dark. He could deal with that.

Leaning back against his pillow in a rare show of calmness (which might have been caused by some sort of drug), Luffy took a long, deep breath.

"Is anyone in here?" he asked. There was a long pause, but nobody answered him. Where was he anyway? A hospital, he figured. He remembered getting to one. They'd gotten to ride in an ambulance with all the sirens wailing, and he just knew they'd broken the speed limit. He'd had to share a vehicle with Usopp and Nami too, and it would've been fun if his hand hadn't been hurting so much. But it didn't hurt now, so that was good.

Deciding he'd had enough, Luffy climbed to his feet, the blankets falling down around him as he stood without bothering to remove them. The gown he wore instead of his normal clothes rustled as he walked away from the bed, catching a moment at something tugging on his wrist. He pulled it out; it only stung for a moment, and then he stumbled towards the door. His eyes were still adjusting, so he made his best guess, and reached the door just as someone else did from the other side. Light poured in as the woman opened the door, and she was met with wide eyes, staring her down as her heart leapt.

"Oh!" She quickly ushered him back into the room, leaving the door open so he could see at least a lititle bit. "You're up!"

"Yep," Luffy replied calmly. "And I'm not blind."

The nurse looking confused at that, but she just nodded. "You're not," she confirmed, patting his bed. "But you have to lie down, please."

"Okay," Luffy sat down on the edge of the bed, thinking. "What day is it?"

"Tuesday," she said, frowning at the IV needle hanging loose on its pole. "You've been here since Saturday night."

"Oh," Luffy remained sitting on the bed, thinking. If he'd come here on Saturday, it had been two whole days he'd been sleeping. He hoped his friends hadn't left without him.

"My hand doesn't hurt anymore," he told the nurse, who looked away from the IV to stare at him. "Did you fix it?"

"Uhhh," she looked like a deer caught in someone's headlights, and Luffy laughed.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

"No, no," she said quickly, coming to sit beside him on the bed. "I just... I thought you knew." She took a deep breath and then hit a button somewhere behind her, flooding the entire room in light. Her next words were nearly lost on him, as Luffy was blinking away tears from the suddenness of it, but he did manage to catch the two most important ones:

"Your... hand..."

Fully adjusted now, Luffy looked down, and his heart skipped a beat.

His hand was gone.

* * *

"Good morning!" Nami was waiting when Usopp walked into the hospital lobby, and he pulled her into a hug before he had a chance to stop himself.

"Morning," he replied, not really sure if it was a good one or not. "I brought your clothes." He held up her bag, having brought it all for fear of going through her things again.

"Great!" She grinned at him, grabbing the bag with her good arm and spinning around towards the bathrooms. "Much better than this old thing I've been wearing." Usopp watched her go, wondering how she was going to get changed with her arm in a sling like it was, but that really wasn't his business. In fact, he had other business to attend to, and he turned to the receptionist with a tired smile.

"Hey," he greeted, walking up to the counter with no trace of his usual strutting. "Any news?"

She was the same woman he'd been talking to the day before, but all she gave him was a blank look.

"News?" He pressed, leaning up against the counter. "About my friends?" She continued to stare at him, and Usopp sighed. "They were brought in the other night after a bunch of logs crushed our van?"

"Oh, right."

"Can you tell me how they are?"

"No."

"Just tell me if they're okay; you can do that much, can't y-"

"No."

"But I-"

"_No_."

There was a long pause, and Usopp leaned closer to her, speaking in a low voice.

"Look," he said. "I know you're busy, and I know that you don't usually give out information like that, but I am worrying my butt off, okay? And three of my best friends are in there, and I don't know whether they're fighting for their lives or totally okay, and I can't sleep at night thinking about it. Those kids are the closest thing to family I have, lady, and I swear I am going to break into their rooms if you don't give me _something_ to work with here." He slammed his hands down on the table, meeting the receptionist's eyes. "At least get me a doctor I can talk to! Anything!"

He waited a moment longer, and the woman nodded.

"Fine," she said. "I'll call someone. Wait here." She stood up and walked away, and Usopp pushed away from the counter. He let out a satisfied sigh, and stood back to wait.

"That was pretty smooth, actually," Nami appeared beside him, dressed in clothes he'd brought, and Usopp jumped.

"What?"

"Convincing her like that," Nami leaned on the counter herself, smirking. "I'm impressed." She had her bag clutched awkwardly in her hand, her sling had been moved over her t-shirt, though it was rumpled and barely straight.

"Here, let me help you with that," Usopp offered, taking the bag before she could argue. He fixed her sling too, careful not to bang on her arm or anything. He hoped it wasn't too awkward for her, but she didn't seem to mind.

"She went to get the doctor," he said when he was done. "We can ask about everyone else."

"Good," she nodded. "You found somewhere we can stay?"

"I got a motel room. Great deal, too."

"Good," she said again. "And a car?"

"A little Honda. It'll fit everyone, but it'll be crowded."

"We'll have to buy an actual van before we take off again."

"_If _we take off again," Usopp muttered, but the doctor had arrived and Nami didn't hear him.

Still toting her bag, Usopp marched alongside his friend to where the man in the white coat stood, and immediately was offered a hand.

"My name is Hannigan Less," he said, smiling at Nami instead of shaking her hand, for obvious reasons. "I understand you're friends of...?"

"Luffy, Sanji and Zoro," Nami answered confidentally. "I'm Nami and this is Usopp, and we want to know how our friends are doing."

"Okay," Dr. Less nodded slowly. "The three of them are under my care for the time being, and I'm afraid I can't give you much of anything without the patients' permission."

"You'll get it," Nami said quickly. "But for now tell us what you can."

Dr. Less nodded. "You're not going to like it, but okay."

Nami and Usopp exchanged a look, then looked back at the doctor, waiting.

"Your friend Luffy is recovering already," Dr. Less said after a moment, "He had to have emergency surgery, and he woke up a while ago now. He's going to be fine, but there were... complications that I can't explain now."

Nami glared at the man, but Usopp just nodded for him to go on. It was good to know Luffy was going to be all right, at least. "And the others?"

"That's a little more complicated," the doctor said with a small sigh. "I'm just going to get it out there and tell you the truth of the matter, all right?" Another pause, then: "Sanji and Zoro are comatose."

"Wh-what?!" Usopp's jaw dropped, and beside him Nami's eyes were wide. "Are they...?"

"They're two very different cases," Dr. Less explained quickly. "Sanji's coma is drug-induced; he was put into it intentionally by us. He was hurt very badly in the accident and we need to give his body more time to adjust and heal itself."

Usopp was nodding slowly as the man spoke; what he was saying made sense, whether or not he liked the thought of his friend lying unconscious in a hospital bed.

"And...Zoro?" Nami sounded as if she didn't actually want an answer, but she was provided with one nonetheless.

"His coma is... natural."

"Natural?" Usopp repeated as the doctor nodded. "What exactly does that mean...?"

"Well," Dr. Less paused a moment to consider his words. "It means that he's comatose of his body's will, and not ours. His body is attempting to recover the damage that was done, and we're not even sure of that much just yet."

"What damage?" Nami asked, but Usopp already knew.

"His head," he said softly, and Dr. Less nodded.

"Yes," he confirmed. "As you know, it... well, it wasn't pretty. You saved his life, getting it bound so quickly, but the damage was still immense. We don't yet know the full extent just yet, but there's a good chance that there will be some permanent damage..." he trailed off again, and Usopp took that as his cue to jump in.

"We should go," he said quickly. "We've got to get to our motel and get our things sorted out..."

"Y-yeah," Nami said. "We should... go..."

Dr. Less looked between the two of them, and then nodded.

"Okay," he said after another moment. "We've got your cell number, Usopp?" The teen nodded, and Dr. Less returned the gesture. "We'll call you," he said simply, turning and walking away without any sort of farewell.

A moment passed before Nami turned to face Usopp, pale and wide-eyed. "We should-"

"Yeah," Usopp repeated their dialogue from minutes earlier, and he hoisted her bag up again. Laying a gentle hand on her good shoulder, Usopp lead her out of the hospital and down the street, into the passenger's seat of his car, and slammed the door shut.


End file.
